AUBURN -- The coach of an 11-19 team is unlikely to get many postseason awards, but that hasn't stopped Kentucky coach John Calipari from stumping for his former assistant.

Auburn coach Tony Barbee should be strongly considered for the SEC's coach of the year honor, Calipari said Monday during a conference call with media, but probably won't because of "haters" who have "personal problems."

Calipari didn't elaborate on his reference to "haters," and Barbee, who played for Calipari at Massachusetts and coached under him at Memphis, is unlikely to win the award.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is a longtime mentor and friend to Auburn coach Tony Barbee.

But the Tigers (11-19, 4-12 SEC) finished the season with two consecutive wins and could continue to raise eyebrows with an upset victory in the first round of the SEC tournament Thursday.

Auburn will play Georgia (20-10, 9-7), the fourth seed in the East, at noon. The game has huge implications for the Bulldogs, who many consider to be on the NCAA tournament bubble. But the matchup might be as favorable for Auburn as Barbee could have hoped for.

The Tigers pushed Georgia to overtime before falling in their earlier meeting in Athens.

It was one of several close losses that could have boosted Auburn's win total, which was already higher than many expected at the start of conference play.

"They've won as many road games in the league as we have," Calipari said. "I think he should have been considered for coach of the year. But we all base it on number of wins. You want to talk to any coach about what he's done with that team, to keep them in every game they've played. To be down 20 and come back and win games, that's what coaching is."

Auburn had the second-biggest comeback in school history when they beat Ole Miss last week. The Tigers trailed by 15 at LSU and won that game, too.

Barbee said he played "mind games" before the LSU game, telling his team to pretend like it was the second half from the opening tip. That didn't work, as Auburn dug its customary hole before rallying late.

Forward Kenny Gabriel has been the impetus for those second-half spurts. He averaged 20 points and nine rebounds in the Tigers' two wins, shooting 50 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the foul line. He was named the league's offensive player of the week.

"What he has to realize is to believe in himself because he has the ability to be that type of player consistently over the course of the season," Barbee said.

Gabriel is Auburn's first SEC player of the week since Korvotney Barber was selected in the final week of the 2009 season.

Gabriel has the fourth-most improved scoring average in the SEC, going from 2.8 points per game last year to 10.4 this year.